Once the corn is done, take the epazote and add the masa harina mixture to the soup. Stir well. Let it simmer for 10-15min to thicken up. If you want it to be thicker, add more masa harina. Stir often while simmering so it doesn't clump up.

Today its highlights from the 2017 Las Vegas VegFest. It was an amazing event with lots of good food and good friends. Pro-wrestler Austin Aries spoke to us briefly about Veganism and more. Austin Aries has a new book out called Food Fight. Hope you enjoy my latest video on this awesome Las Vegas vegan food festival.

Thanks to my YouTuber friends Sebastian from Creative Fam and Focus Media as well as David from JFG LV who came out the Las Vegas Veg Fest 2017. You guys were awesome. Special thanks to Anthony who hung out with us. Thanks to Kyle from What Iz health, look for his up and coming youtube channel.

Thanks to everyone who helped put the Veg Fest together, it was an amazing event. So glad I went. :D

Ingredients For The Vegan Cashew Cheese Filling:1 cup of Cashews (soak them for a few hours)2 tablespoons of non-dairy Milk 1 tablespoon of fresh Lemon Juice1 teaspoon Mild Yellow Miso (Chickpea or Soy)1/2 tablespoon of Maple SyrupSalt to taste

​Directions:Roast your potatoes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 45min.ORYou can boil the sweet potatoes until soft. It takes about 15-20 minutes. Once they are done, drain the water and pat the potatoes dry.

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Dice the onions and aji peppers. Mince the garlic.

Saute the onions, garlic, aji peppers and achiote over medium heat in coconut oil until the onions are soft.

Combine the onion mixture with the sweet potatoes. Mash the mixture together. Salt to taste.Shape the potato dough into balls with your palms. About 1/4 cup each.Make a hole in the middle of each one.

Fill each ball with about 1 -2 teaspoons of Vegan cheese.

Put an extra dollop of the potato mixture on top of the balls to cover the hole. Then use your palm to press down on the ball to flatten the ball and create a patty.

Let them rest and firm up in the refrigerator for about an hour.

Cook the patties in a frying pan for about 4-6 min on each side til they're golden brown.

​

Directions for the Cheese:Soak the cashews up to 24 hours. The longer you soak them, the creamier the cheese will be.Put all the cheese ingredients into the food processor or blender. Pulse til you get the consistency you want. You want it to be creamy but still crumbly.

Directions for making the Salsa de Mani:Put all the ingredients in a pot except for the cilantro. Stir well.Simmer and reduce for a few minutes.Add the cilantro at the end.

Puree with a hand held blender. (optional)

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SUBSTITUTIONS:

I know some of these ingredients may be hard to find. So here are my suggestions. If you can't find Aji pepper, you might find Aji paste or use any pepper you like. I've made this with Habaneros and it was really good.

If you can't find Achiote, you might be able to find achiote paste or Annatto seed which you grind up to make Achiote powder. If you can't find either, you could substitute with Saffron or Turmeric. It's not the same but it'll taste good anyways.

If you don't want to make your own Cashew Cheese, you can always substitute with any of the Vegan cheeses out there.

You don't have to use Miso in the cheese, I just happen to like it. You also don't need to add Maple Syrup if you prefer a sharper tasting cheese.

To make the tostadas, you take a couple of tortillas and put them in a toaster oven. Watch them carefully to make sure they don't burn up. I like making my tostadas this way because store bought tostadas tend to be deep-fried and way too salty. I don't use oil to make them and I use a lot less salt on my own.

If you don't have a toaster oven, you can bake them at 400 degrees for 3-5 min per side.

(Optional Step)

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Crumble the tofu.

Into a frying pan, add the salsa, crumbled tofu and nutritional yeast.

Scramble it up in the pan under medium heat.

Add the salt and greens. Stir it all in.

Add the tortillas/tortilla chips. Add them at the end so they don't get soggy.​Cook the whole thing for a couple of minutes.

Serve on a plate and top with cilantro and any optional toppings you like.

I used Oat Bran because its higher in protein than regular Oats but this recipe will be good no matter what kind of grain you use. This is a hearty breakfast for those days when you need a big dose of energy to start your day.

Combine the oats, salt and liquid into a sauce pan on the stove and cook over medium heat while stirring. Once the liquid has reduced and the oats are nearly cooked, add the plantain. Stir.

Now add the vanilla, cinnamon and ground flax. Mix it well til all the ingredients have been combined. Finish cooking the oatmeal to the consistency you like. If it's too thick, you can add a little more milk.

Sauce Ingredients:1/2 tablespoon of Chipotle Powder1 - 15 oz can of Fire-Roasted Tomatoes2 cloves of Garlic 1/2 of an Onion1/4 teaspoon of Ground Cumin1 teaspoon of Mexican Oregano (whole leaf)a few sprigs of CilantroSalt to taste

Directions:

Pre-heat your oven to 400°F.

Combine all of your meatball ingredients into a food processor. Pulse til smooth.

Use your hands to roll the mixture into medium-sized meatballs. If the mixture is too dry, then add water.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Make your sauce by combining all the ingredients into a blender. Blend til smooth.

Pour into a pot. Heat up the sauce and simmer over medium heat for a few minutes.

Out of the oven, coat the meatballs with the chipotle sauce.

I like to serve mine over a bed of greens with brown rice and avocado.

Note: If you prefer to cook your own beans, you'll need about 2 cups. You can switch to chipotles in adobo if you can't find the powder. You can always make your own fire-roasted tomatoes, about 4-5 would work.

Directions:Sift the corn flour. This will keep it from clumping when you start to cook it.

Prepare the Alguashte paste. Take the ground pumpkin seeds and mix it in a bowl with 1-2 tablespoons of water depending on how thick you like it.

Heat up 2 cups of water on high. As it starts to get hot, lower the temperature to medium before it starts boiling. Start adding the flour and whisking it into the water. Whisk it til there are no clumps and the mixture has thickened. Add salt to taste.

Serve in a bowl. Add the beans on top and pour the pumpkin seed paste all around the bowl.

You can add more or less of the beans and paste, this just happens to be my preference.

This is often served with a red chili hot sauce but that's optional.

That's it. Hope you try it out. I'll be back soon with a Latino comfort food recipe that is Vegan, Gluten-Free, weight loss and diabetic friendly. Hasta Luego! Buen Provecho!

Directions:Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin pan with liners.

You want to start off with your banana. The riper the banana, the sweeter the muffins. Take a medium bowl and combine the banana and nut butter. I used almond butter but any nut butter will do. Use a fork to smash the two together until they are thoroughly combined.

Add the oats and combine all your ingredients together. Now add 1 cup of water and mix well.

Add any of the add-ins and mix well. Add the frozen blueberries. Make sure they are frozen, otherwise they will get smashed as you mix them in.

Evenly distribute your oatmeal mixture into your lined muffin tin. Top with a few whole oats.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Slide a toothpick in. If its dry its done, if its wet, give it more time in the oven. Bake times may vary on the oven and size of your muffins.

Let them cool completely before eating.

There's about 118 calories in each muffin. Naturally sweetened, these muffins are great if you have a sweet tooth but still watching your carbs and sugars.

Directions:​The "chicken" in this dish is a Japanese mushroom called Maitake otherwise known as the "Hen Of The Woods" . They have a very smoky scent and they have a chicken like flavor. You can find these in an Asian grocery store or you can buy them online. You can always adjust this recipe to whatever mushroom or vegetable you have but I do recommend trying these mushrooms.

Take the dried mushrooms and soak them in water for a few hours til they soften up.​Chop your onion and mince your garlic. Slice your softened mushrooms into bite sized pieces.In a blender, add the tomatoes, chipotles and adobo sauce. Puree til smooth.

I didn't use oil in this dish. You can if you like. I prefer to water saute. In a skillet over medium heat, add about 1/4 cup of water or Mushroom broth. Add the chopped onion and garlic to cook until translucent. Add the broccoli slaw and mushrooms. Stir the mixture and cook til they soften up. Add the chipotle tomato sauce and oregano. Let the whole mixture cook for a few minutes. Add salt to taste. Once done, turn the heat off and stir in a few chopped sprigs of cilantro.

To make the tostadas, you take a couple of tortillas and put them in a toaster oven. Watch them carefully to make sure they don't burn up. I usually put the setting to dark and pull them out when they start to puff up and look done. I like making my tostadas this way because store bought tostadas tend to be deep-fried and way too salty. I don't use oil to make them and I use alot less salt on my own. I also find that they keep their shape as I eat them better than store bought ones which have a tendency to crumble. If you don't have a toaster oven, you can bake them at 400 degrees for 3-5min per side.

Pile the tinga mixture on top of your tostadas. You can top them with all sorts of stuff, including avocado, vegan crema, salsa, cilantro, greens, vegan cheese and more... I just ate them like this with a cup of black beans on the side.

Tinga can also be used for tacos, burritos, sopes, huaraches, nachos, salads and more.

Your going to start by making the chorizo seasoning. The most important ingredient is the ancho chile. That is the flavor, the rest just enhances the flavor. You can find ancho chile at a Latino market or order it online.

Mix all your spices together. This will be more than you'll actually need in the dish. Just store the extra seasoning for future recipes.

Now chop 2 cups of potatoes. You can use any potatoes you like. I chose to use 1 cup of sweet potatoes and 1 cup of Jicama.

Take 1 cup of cooked & drained chickpeas. Using a potato masher, start mashing them til they become chunky and crumbly like chorizo. Some people like to peel the chickpeas but I just left them whole. Take a fork and mash it some more as you slowly start to add the seasoning. How much will depend on how spicy you like it. I used a little over a tablespoon. You want to make a crumbly but pasty mixture. So you'll want to add water and mix it. Add the vinegar and mix it in. Stop once you get the consistency and flavor you like.

Now the chickpea chorizo is ready to cook with the potatoes. I'm going to water saute the potatoes. You don't want to use too much water. You want to cook them but not boil them. You don't want them to get all mushy. So your going to add about 1/4 cup of water to start, as you cook, the water will evaporate and so you'll add a little bit more til your potatoes are cooked but firm... don't let them get all mushy. Keep in mind that cooked Jicama will remain crunchy no matter how much you cook it, so don't expect it to have the same texture as your sweet potato. Now you can add the chickpea chorizo to the pan. Mix it into the potato mixture til it's all covered. Heat up the mixture for a bit, add salt if you like. When done, mix in a little chopped cilantro. That's it. I like to serve mine on a bed of greens. Hope you liked this recipe. :-)

This recipe is for a slow cooker. To begin with, I took all the vegetables and prepared them the night before.

Chop the onion, celery and carrots. Mince the garlic.

Cut the pumpkin open and clean out all the seeds and fiber. Take a peeler and skin it. Throw the skin and stem away. Cut the peeled pumpkin into bite sized pieces.

To make the red chile sauce, put the tomatoes into a blender along with the ancho chile powder, guajillo chile powder, chipotle chile powder, paprika and cumin. Pulse til smooth. This blend is mild to medium in heat. Add more chile if you like it spicy.

Put all the chopped up vegetables, dry beans, red chile sauce, broth, hominy, oregano, cinnamon stick & bay leafs into a slow cooker. I used a 1/2 cup of black beans and a 1/2 cup of pinto beans but you can use whatever beans you like. As for the broth, how much you use will depend on how much space is left. I wound up using 7 cups, you may need more or you may need less. I wound up putting the Hominy on top because it's already cooked. I then set it on low for 8 hours.

After 8 hours, its done. Add 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro and mix it in before serving. You can also add salt now if you like.

This dish is usually served with various toppings including shredded cabbage, sliced radishes, pumpkin seeds, cilantro, lime wedges and more...

That's it. Posole is a great dish to prepare for the holidays. Hope you enjoyed this recipe. It's Vegan, Gluten-Free, Weight Loss and Diabetic Friendly.

Slice all the vegetables into long thin strips, cut the tomato into wedges and finely chop the garlic, cilantro and ginger.

Heat a large wok or pan, add the coconut oil or you can water saute. Start by cooking your onion, ginger and garlic for a couple of minutes. Once your onions soften, add the mushrooms and stir-fry til they soften up. Now add all peppers and cook for a few minutes. Add the sauce and stir it in. Finally add the tomatoes and cook them for a couple of minutes.

Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into wedges. Toss with olive oil, salt and spice. ​Spread out the potatoes onto the baking sheet. Bake for 25-30min or more, depending on how crispy you want the fries to be.

Directions to cook dry beans using a Crock Pot:If your not using canned beans, this is a possible way for you to cook dry beans.

For every 1 cup of dry beans, use 3 cups of water.

Sprinkle Epazote to help reduce the gas that beans often cause. Set the crock pot on low.

It'll takes 6-8 hours for the beans to be fully cooked.

***It'll take less time if you've soaked your beans but its not necessary.***

Directions for the soup:Chop up all your vegetables into bite sized pieces.

Put all the ingredients except the cilantro into a pot.

Turn your burner up to high. When the soup starts to boil, lower the heat to medium. Simmer your soup for about 15min or more til your vegetables are tender.

Use a submersion blender or put the soup into a regular blender and puree.

***Be careful if your using a blender, hot steam can blast the lid off. So if your using a blender, remove the stopper on top and cover the hole with a folded towel to prevent a mess.***

Mix in the Cilantro.

Serve in a bowl or an edible squash bowl.

Making an edible Squash Bowl for serving:Pre-heat your oven 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut the bottom of the squash so that it stands up flat. Cut the stem top off. Clean out the inside of the squash. Scrape out all the seeds and strands. Rub a little bit of oil on the inside. Bake for 40 min or more til it's fork tender.

Put all the ingredients into a container and shake til its well mixed.

Serve with milk, berries, fruit, yogurt, smoothies... etc​

If you decide to toast your oats, here's how:Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the oats onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake the oats for 10 min or until they turn golden brown. Let them cool.